Salas-Mancini-Vieri full steam ahead
With three goals by their strikers Lazio win important title clash
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season, under manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, Lazio had won silverware after 24 years, triumphing against Milan 3-2 on aggregate in the Coppa Italia. The Biancocelesti had lost the first leg in Milan 0-1 and had been 0-1 down in Rome too, but then scored three goals in ten minutes to win 3-1 and give some generations the new sweet taste of success. A Cup Winners Cup campaign awaited them.
Over the summer there had been some changes to the squad. Important players arrived: defenders Fernando Couto (Parma), Sinisa Mihajlovic (Sampdoria), midfielders Iván De La Peña (Barcelona), Dejan Stankovic (Red Star Belgrade), Sergio Conceição (Porto) plus strikers Marcelo Salas (River Plate) and Christian Vieri (Atlético Madrid).
Leaving were: keeper Fernando Orsi (retiring), defenders José Chamot (Atlético Madrid) and Alessandro Grandoni (Sampdoria), midfielders Diego Fuser (Parma) and Vladimir Jugovic (Atlético Madrid) plus striker Pierluigi Casiraghi (Chelsea) and, in October, Roberto Rambaudi (Genoa). So quite an upheaval to the squad.
The season had started triumphantly on August 29 when Lazio beat Juventus 2-1 in Turin to lift their first ever Italian Supercoppa.
In Serie A so far Lazio had played 16 games. They got off to a sluggish start and in the first ten games had won 3 (including Inter 5-3 away), drawn 4 (including first 3) and lost 3. The Biancocelesti had then drawn a thrilling derby 3-3 and since then were flying. Lazio had won the last 5 consecutive games (including Juventus 1-0 away). The previous week Lazio had defeated league leaders Fiorentina 2-0 at home. Lazio were now only three points off the top (Fiorentina and today's opponents Parma). The table read Fiorentina 32, Parma 32, Lazio 29, Milan and Inter 27.
The defence of their Coppa Italia was going well too. In September they had eliminated Cosenza 4-1 on aggregate and then beat Milan 4-2 on aggregate. On December 3 Lazio had defeated Inter 2-1 at home and the return leg would be on January 27.
In the Cup Winners Cup Lazio were through to the quarterfinals to be played in March. The Biancocelesti had eliminated Lausanne on away goals (1-1, 2-2) and Partizan Belgrade 3-2. Next up were Greeks Panionios.
A big game in Emilia tonight. Parma were top but Lazio were on a roll.
Parma had finished 6th the previous season under Carlo Ancelotti. The Gialloblu had drawn 1-1 at home against Lazio but won 2-1 in Rome. Top scorer was Enrico Chiesa with 21 goals (only in A it was Hernan Crespo with 12).
This season the manager was Alberto Malesani. The main new players were: defenders Luigi Sartor (Inter), Paolo Vanoli (Verona), midfielders Diego Fuser (Lazio), Juan Sebastián Verón (Sampdoria), Alain Boghossian (Sampdoria), Raffaele Longo (Napoli) plus forward Abel Balbo (Roma).
Leaving Parma were: defenders Zé Maria (Perugia), midfielders Massimo Crippa (Torino), Pietro Strada (Perugia), Simone Barone (Padova - on loan), Jesper Blomqvist (Manchester United) plus forward Adailton (Paris Saint-Germain).
Parma were currently top of the table with Fiorentina on 32 points. The Gialloblu had won 9 (including Juventus 1-0, Fiorentina 2-0, Milan 4-0, Inter 1-0, all at home), drawn 5 and lost 2. They came from three consecutive wins.
In Coppa Italia they had qualified for the quarterfinals and lost the first leg 2-3 away to Udinese, the return game would be on January 27. Parma had knocked out Genoa 4-0 and Bari 2-1, both on aggregate.
In the UEFA Cup too they were in the quarter finals to be played in March against Bordeaux. The Ducali had eliminated Fenerbahçe 3-2, Wisla Krakow 3-2 and Rangers Glasgow 4-2, all on aggregate.
So far, an excellent season for the Crociati (Crusaders).
A big match tonight at the Tardini in what looked like a Scudetto clash. Meanwhile Fiorentina would play Cagliari at home.
The match: Sunday, January 17, 1999, Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma
A dry but humid evening in Parma attracted about 25,000 to the Tardini.
Parma were without midfielder Nestor Sensini, while Lazio had Pavel Nedved unavailable.
Parma started aggressively with a high press and put Lazio under some initial pressure. Lazio then had a chance when Gianluigi Buffon was forced out of his area to head the ball away from oncoming Marcelo Salas and it fell to Christian Vieri who tried an ambitious volley over the keeper from at least 40 metres but it was off target.
In the 15th minute Hernan Crespo claimed Sinisa Mihajlovic handballed when challenging him but the referee ignored it.
Lazio responded with a Sergio Conceição effort from outside the area following a Mihajlovic corner but it went fairly wide to Buffon's left post. Then the Biancocelesti had a double penalty appeal on the same move, first Paolo Negro was seemingly tripped entering the area and then Buffon appeared to pull Vieri down. Again, Bazzoli was not interested.
Lazio insisted and Mihajlovic saw one of his classic curling freekicks go very near Parma's left post. Parma hit back with some end of half pressure and following a scramble Matías Almeyda had to clear the ball from near the goal line. Halftime Parma 0 Lazio 0.
A lively first 45 minutes but no goals yet. Lazio had been the more dangerous.
There were no changes at the break. Parma started similarly to the first half and Crespo fired over the bar with his left from a Fabio Cannavaro through ball.
In the 54th minute Lazio were awarded a penalty. On the left, Almeyda passed to Beppe Pancaro who made his way into the box, but was tripped by Luigi Sartor and this time Bazzoli had no doubts. Salas then cracked a perfect, strong penalty, centrally under the crossbar. Parma 0 Lazio 1. Lazio celebrated under the thousands of travelling fans.
Parma were not having it and equalised almost immediately with a move by three Lazio connections, past and future. In the 54th minute Diego Fuser put in a hopeful up and under from near the right corner flag, it was headed on by Enrico Chiesa and latched onto by Crespo who got in front of Negro and scored from close range. Parma 1 Lazio 1.
Lazio reacted with an excellent Conceição cross from the left but neither Salas nor Vieri could get a touch.
The game was now spectacular and end to end and another future Lazio player Dino Baggio tried his luck but Luca Marchegiani blocked centrally.
In the 67th minute the Ducali took off Chiesa and brought on, former Roma, Abel Balbo.
A minute later Lazio scored. In the 68th minute the Biancocelesti had a corner from the left, Mihajlovic swung it in and Roberto Mancini, with a stroke of genius and with his back to the goal, backheeled it into the roof of the net. An amazing goal, one of the best in Lazio history and Parma 1 Lazio 2.
Parma then attacked furiously. Antonio Benarrivo crossed from the left into the crowded area where Balbo got a good header in, but Marchegiani sprung to his left and blocked. Dino Baggio a few minutes later fired over the bar.
In the 81st minute Malesani increased the hosts attacking weight by bringing off defender Sartor and putting on attacking midfielder Pier Luigi Orlandini.
Parma continued to attack and Fuser teed up Crespo in front of Marchegiani on the right, but the "Count" raced off his line, dived low at Crespo's feet and the ball went out for a corner. Even Cannavaro attempted a long range shot, but Marchegiani parried into corner.
In the last minutes Lazio tried to interrupt Parma's rhythm but also to put on fresh legs and in the 87th minute replaced Conceição with Guerino Gottardi and in the 89th Mancini with Fernando Couto. Clearly two conservative and defensive substitutions.
Parma still generously went forward but started to lose balance and Lazio suddenly had space. Dejan Stankovic put Vieri in front of Buffon but the national keeper was quick off his line and got to the ball a fraction earlier.
In the 91st minute Lazio sealed the victory. On a long ball over the defence, Vieri surged forward and suddenly had only Buffon to beat. He duly did so with a powerful left foot over the keeper who was slightly off his line. Parma 1 Lazio 3. The third goal in three games since his return for "Bobo". Final score 1-3.
A highly entertaining game between two excellent sides. It could have gone either way but Lazio had deserved the win if only for the quality of Mancini’s goal, absolute masterclass. Parma had confirmed to be a class team but tonight was Lazio's time to celebrate.
Lazio moved up to joint 2nd with Parma on 32 points, three behind Fiorentina who had beaten Cagliari 4-2 at home.
Who played for Parma
Buffon, Sartor (81' Orlandini), Thuram, Cannavaro, Fuser, D. Baggio, Boghossian, Benarrivo, Veron, Crespo, Chiesa (67' Balbo)
Substitutes: Nista, Vanoli, Mussi, Cardone, Fiore
Manager: Malesani
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro, Nesta, Mihajlovic, Pancaro, Stankovic, Mancini (89' Couto), Almeyda, Conceição (87' Gottardi), Salas, Vieri
Substitutes: Concetti, Lombardi, de la Peña, Baronio, Iannuzzi
Manager: Eriksson
Referee: Bazzoli
Goals: 51' Salas (pen), 54' Crespo, 68' Mancini, 91' Vieri
What happened next
Lazio went very close to winning the Scudetto. They were top of the table from the 22nd fixture until the penultimate game when they drew in Florence, being denied a blatant penalty and were undeservedly overtaken by Milan. In the last match Lazio beat Parma 2-1 at the Olimpico but Milan cruised 2-0 away to a passive Perugia and won the title.
Lazio finished 2nd in Serie A but triumphed in Europe winning the last ever Cup Winners Cup. They beat Mallorca 2-1 at Villa Park in Birmingham with goals by Vieri and Nedved.
Top scorer was Marcelo Salas with 24 (15 in league) but Vieri had a good season too, when he finally returned in January, with 12 league goals.
In Coppa Italia Lazio lost the return leg 2-5 to Inter and were eliminated.
Parma finished 4th and qualified for the Champions League. They won two cups, the UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia. In Europe they then eliminated Bordeaux 8-1 and Atlético Madrid 5-1 before triumphing 3-0 against Olympique Marseille in the final in Moscow. In Coppa Italia then defeated Udinese 4-0 at home, then Inter 4-1 on aggregate and in the final beat Fiorentina on away goals. An excellent season for the Gialloblu. Top scorer was Hernan Crespo with 28 goals (16 in A).
With Milan champions the other verdicts were Salernitana, Sampdoria, Vicenza and Empoli down to Serie B.
Let's talk about Christian Vieri
Christian Vieri was born in Bologna, on July 12, 1973.
He is the son of former player Roberto Vieri, while his mother is French. When Christian was four years old, he and his family emigrated to Australia for ten years (hence his love for cricket). In fact his first footballing experiences were down under with the Marconi Stallions.
Back in Italy between 1987-1992 he was with Santa Lucia, Prato and then Torino youth sectors.
He made his debut for Torino in 1991-92 (against Lazio) and played 6 league games with 1 goal (Genoa) and 1 game in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Lazio). The Granata had a good season with a 3rd place and also reached the UEFA Cup final (lost to Ajax on away goals).
The following season he changed teams and joined Pisa in Serie B. This habit of changing clubs after only a year would become a constant rule over the first eight years of his career (8 teams in 8 years). With Pisa he played 18 games with 2 goals (Verona home and away). The Nerazzurri came 8th.
In 1993-94 he was with Ravenna in serie B. He made 32 appearances and started scoring more regularly, 12 goals. Despite his goals, the Giallorossi were relegated to Serie C.
A year later he was up the road at Venezia in Serie B. He played 29 games with 11 goals. The "Leoni Alati" (The Winged Lions) changed manager five times and came 9th.
The 1995-96 season saw "Bobo" back in Serie A at Atalanta. He played 19 league games with 8 goals (including Roma) and 2 games in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Bologna). The "Orobici" came 13th and reached the Coppa Italia final, losing 3-0 on aggregate to Fiorentina.
In 1996-97 he joined Juventus. He played alongside Alessandro Del Piero, Zinedine Zidane, Alen Boksic and under manager Marcello Lippi. The Bianconeri won the Scudetto, the Intercontinental Cup (River Plate 1-0) and the European Super Cup (P.S.G 9-2 on aggregate, with 1 Vieri goal)). They however did not retain the Champions League as they were a little surprisingly beaten 3-1 in the final by Borussia Dortmund (with 2 goals by former Lazio, Karl-Heinz Riedle). Vieri himself played 23 league games with 8 goals (including 2 against Roma and 1 vs Lazio), 5 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (F. Andria), 8 in Champions League with 4 goals (Rapid Vienna, Rosenborg, Ajax home and away), plus the Intercontinental final in Tokyo.
A year later he was in Spain and became a "Colchonero" joining Atletico Madrid. It was not a great season for them under Radomir Antić and Atletico came 7th. In the UEFA CUP they were eliminated by Lazio in the semis (0-1 on aggregate). It was a fantastic season for Vieri personally, he scored a total of 29 goals with 24 in the league and becoming the Liga "Pichichi" (top scorer).
In 1998-98 he returned to Italy and signed for Lazio. Ambitious Sergio Cragnotti was building a competitive team and chose Vieri as his top striker. Unfortunately, Vieri would not play regularly until January due to a knee injury in early September, but when he did he was excellent. He scored 12 league goals between January and May. Lazio went very close to winning the Scudetto, falling at the penultimate hurdle with a 1-1 draw in Florence amidst controversial refereeing decisions by a certain Treossi.
The Biancocelesti however won the last ever Cup Winners Cup Final 2-1 against Mallorca and Vieri scored the opener and was involved in the build up to Pavel Nedved's winner. Lazio also won the Italian Supercoppa in August '98 beating Juventus 2-1 away. Despite being a great success in Rome and very popular, in the summer he was sold.
Inter bought Vieri for a record 90 billion Lire. Cragnotti was a businessman and he simply could not refuse that sort of money. At Inter he was reunited with Marcello Lippi and the Nerazzurri came 4th (Lazio were Champions). Vieri played 19 league games (plus a CL playoff versus Parma) and scored 13 goals (including Roma), plus 5 games in Coppa Italia with 5 goals. Inter reached the Coppa Italia final but lost to Lazio 2-1 on aggregate.
The following year the big novelty was that Vieri actually stayed at Inter. Under Lippi (one league game) and then Marco Tardelli for the rest of the season, Inter came 5th. Vieri played 28 league games with 18 goals (including 2 against Roma) plus 5 in the UEFA Cup with 1 goal (Alavés).
In 2001-02 Hector Cuper arrived as manager. Inter looked to win the Scudetto but inexplicably collapsed in the last match against Lazio, losing 4-2 and ending up 3rd. Vieri played 25 league games with 22 goals (including derby winner, Roma and Lazio), 1 in Coppa Italia and 2 in the UEFA Cup with 3 goals (hat-trick vs Ipswich Town).
In 2002-03 Cuper stayed on. Inter finished 2nd. In the Champions League they reached the semi-finals but lost to Milan on away goals. Vieri played 23 league games with 24 goals (including Juve and Roma) and 14 in the Champions League with 3 goals (Newcastle United, Valencia home and away). He was Serie A top scorer.
In 2003-04 Cuper was sacked after six games and replaced by Alberto Zaccheroni (the Lazio manager on that fateful May 5, 2002). Inter came 4th and Vieri played 22 league games with 13 goals (including Lazio, Roma and Juventus), 1 in Coppa Italia, 5 in Champions League with 2 goals (Dynamo Kiev and Arsenal) and 4 in the UEFA Cup with 2 goals (Sochaux and Benfica).
In 2004-05, Roberto Mancini arrived as manager. Inter came 3rd in Serie A but won the Coppa Italia beating Roma 3-0 on aggregate. Vieri played 27 league games with13 goals (including Juventus), 3 in Coppa Italia with 3 goals (Bologna, Cagliari x2) and 6 in the Champions League with 1 goal (Valencia). In the Champions League Inter were again knocked out by city rivals Milan in the quarterfinals. At Inter he played 190 games with an impressive 123 goals (103 Serie A, 8 CI, 12 European cups)
In 2005-06 Vieri stayed in the Lombard capital but joined A.C Milan. The season was a strange one as the two top placed teams, Juventus and Milan were punished for their involvement in the Calciopoli scandal. The Bianconeri were sent down to Serie B and the Rossoneri were docked 30 points, ironically giving Vieri's former team Inter the Scudetto. Before the final verdicts Ancelotti's Milan had come 2nd. Vieri only played 8 league games with 1 goal (Empoli), 1 game in Coppa Italia and 5 in Champions League (Milan eventually knocked out by Barcelona in the semis). Vieri however had only stayed with Milan until January.
To give himself more playing time and a better chance to be called up for the World Cup squad, he joined Monaco. In France he played 7 league games with 3 goals, 2 Cup games with 1 goal and 2 games in the UEFA Cup with 1 goal. In March he suffered a serious injury which ended his season and any World Cup hopes.
The following year Vieri was supposed to join Sampdoria. He was still injured and instead of turning up for pre-season training he went off on holiday with his girlfriend. The Samp owner Garrone was not amused and never registered the striker's contract.
At this point a few weeks later Vieri re-joined Atalanta. His injury however dragged out and he did not play until April. He got 7 games in the end with 2 goals (Siena, Udinese). The Bergamaschi came 8th under Stefano Colantuono.
In 2007-08, as a free agent, he signed for Fiorentina. The Viola had a good season under Cesare Prandelli, 4th in Serie A (CL qualification) and semi final of UEFA Cup (Rangers on penalties - Vieri missed the last spot kick). Vieri played 26 league games with 6 goals (Atalanta, Siena, Napoli, Torino, Udinese, Sampdoria), 1 in Coppa Italia and 12 in the UEFA Cup with 3 goals (Villarreal, Elfsborg, Mladá Boleslav).
In 2008-09 he spent one last season back in Bergamo with Atalanta. The manager was Luigi Del Neri and the "Orobici" finished 11th. Vieri, plagued by injuries and 35, got 9 league games with 2 goals (Udinese, Juventus).
Approaching 36 Vieri then retired.
At international level Vieri won 49 caps for Italy with 23 goals. He took part in two World Cups (1998 and 2002) and one European Championship (2004). He holds the record of goals for the "Azzurri" at World Cups with 9 (alongside Paolo Rossi and Roberto Baggio). He also won two U21 European Championships (1994 and 1996).
Since retiring he has been in a film, started a clothing brand, been in adverts and TV shows, worked as a pundit, organised beach football tennis tournaments (Bobo Summer Cup), put out a music single and had his own TV programme in streaming called Bobo TV… he has kept busy.
As a player Vieri was a classic centre-forward. At 1.85 metres and 82 kilos he was physically strong but quick once he got going and good in the air. Despite his size he also had opportunist qualities. He had a very powerful and precise left foot which allowed him to score with long range shots too. He was a goal scorer but was also an effective attacking partner to play off so he was also a useful assist man. He was a team player and had good leadership qualities. He was a reliable penalty taker.
All these qualities made him one of the best forwards of his generation. He has been compared to Gigi Riva, Giorgio Chinaglia (with whom he also shared emigration experiences and hence a very particular spoken Italian). Nowadays, I would say Erland Haaland has "Vieriesque" qualities.
At Lazio he was a huge success. Unfortunately he stayed only a year and was injured until January. When he started playing again he was a whirlwind presence and scored goals (14 in 23 games). Lazio deserved to win the Scudetto that year, falling agonizingly short, but won the Cup Winners Cup.
He was popular in Rome for his character, his similarity to Chinaglia, his fighting spirit and not least his goals. Vieri is possibly the player who in the shortest time (5 months in the end) made the biggest impact at Lazio. He is remembered as a great player and with the cup win has his place in Lazio history.
Had Lazio won the Scudetto they deserved he would have left an even bigger mark. This was a curious fact about Vieri's career, timing; Lazio became champions the year after he left, Inter the same (albeit awarded), Milan won the Champions League a year after he left and Italy won the World Cup in 2006 with Vieri out injured. He did win trophies but maybe not as many as his talent deserved.
Lazio career
Season | Total Appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Cup Winners Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1998-99 | 28 (14) | 22 (12) | 2 (1) | 4 (1) |
Sources
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